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Thursday, January 26, 2012

So sorry that my hair looks a little crazy(er than usual), I just came off a costume contest. I was Bellatrix Lestrange. I came in second, but that's alright. Because I came in second to my room mate Samantha, who was Severus Snape. So it's all good :)

I've been loving braided crowns ever since I got straight cut bangs a few months ago. But I've been making them out of my actual HAIR. Even though my hair has gotten longer, it's still tough to make two braids on either side of one's head and turn it into something that looks even remotely normal. So I decided 15 minutes ago (literally, how long this takes.) to make a braided headband! Keep reading for the how to.

DIY: Braided Crown Headband

Materials: Brown leather (You can get it in HUGE packs at Hobby Lobby's leather working section)
Sharp scissors

Tiny rubber bands

Steps:

1: Cut your leather into thin, long strips. Even if you want your headband pretty thick, trust me. It all adds up at the end. Thinner leather will braid easily, while thicker leather will not. A tip on length! Make sure you cut the leather at a very long length. Like around your head almost twice. When braiding anything, it'll obviously become much shorter.

2: To Braid your headband, take all three strands and put them together at the same length. Have a friend hold the end, duct tape it to a table, or hold it between two of your toes if you're classy enough. Braid the leather like your would anything else, but make sure the links stay pretty much the same size throughout. Otherwise it'll look a little silly.

3: Once you get done with the braid, hold both ends tightly. Now take your tiny black rubber bands and wrap them around one end several times, as if you putting up a ponytail. Repeat on the other end, and then repeat again with two other tiny rubber bands. I use this method instead of sewing or glue, mainly because I HATE SEWING LEATHER. I hate it. I really don't have any thick needles just lying around, and this leather that I have is too thick for a glue job. And the rubber bands really do the job.

4: Take the two tails of the braid, and wrap it around your head to measure. Now hold it as you take it off.

5: Take another rubber band and tie it around the tails. This will keep it as a circle.